In The Fire
by SassyKitten
Summary: Xander Cage is needed for another mission by Gibbons, only this time he has a partner, she's smart, sassy cold, and the only one who could change him
1. Off Again

In The Fire  
  
"Cage"  
  
Nothing. Augustus Gibbons tapped his fingers restlessly on the large mahogany desk.  
  
"Cage!"  
  
Still nothing. Gibbons knew Xander was there, with Yelena with him, where else would he be?  
  
"CAGE!"  
  
Gibbons yelled. Xander slowly rose from the bed and glared evilly at the communicator. He reached over Yelena and kissed the top of her sleeping head and flipped the lid open.  
  
"What?"  
  
He asked, his voice barely more then a growl, he didn't want to wake Yelena; she was so beautiful when she was asleep. He tugged of his boxers and took the communicator outside.  
  
"We need you for a new mission"  
  
"Oh hell no"  
  
"Why not? You did so well with the last one, plus, you got something extra out of it"  
  
Xander couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Yeah. Whatever, where is this one gonna be?"  
  
"Some place new, a lovely little place called Wellington. It's little, but there is some major shit that's going on there, they government there wanted my best man, right now it's you"  
  
"Wait, where is Wellington?"  
  
"New Zealand"  
  
"Dude, I'm not going to New Zealand"  
  
"Yes, you damn well will, now pack up, you're plane leaves in a few hours, oh and X? You got a partner on this one, she'll be at the airport when you arrive"  
  
Xander sneered and slapped the cover shut. He turned to go back to the bedroom when he saw Yelena leaning against the doorframe.  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
She asked sleepily, rubbing her pretty brown eyes.  
  
"Gibbons, I have to go to New Zealand"  
  
"New Zealand? What's there?"  
  
"He wouldn't tell me. I have to pack, my flight leaves in a few hours"  
  
"Xander why do you still take orders from him? You're time is over, we can stay here and relax, and I was thinking, since you're work was over, we could have a baby"  
  
Xander stopped and stared at Yelena.  
  
"I would love that, and I don't know why I still takes his orders, but this is the last job I do, I promise"  
  
He kissed her softly and went to get ready to leave. Yelena watched him for a while before she sighed and went into the bathroom. When the door was safely locked, she opened the bottom cabinet and pulled out a little stick with a pink symbol on the end. She was pregnant. 


	2. Agent Bell

Ch2  
  
The plane was worst then anything he could have experienced in his life. Storms were building up in the clouds around them and began to rock the plane back and forth with no mercy and the child that sat in his mothers lap was screaming like a banshee.  
  
He tried to fall asleep but couldn't. He spent the rest of the ride looking out the window with his head rested on his fist and watched the storms in the clouds build and bounce in their prison before they broke free and the droplets pelted the earth.  
  
Hours later the plain landed and the earth around the small airport looked like it was encased in a fine glass. He breathed in deeply and it smelled like wet earth and freshly cut grass. Two small children, girls, ran past him laughing and his mind snapped to what Yelena had asked him.  
  
He stepped into the airport and it immediately became impersonal. People of all shapes and sizes rushed passed him to get to places they really didn't want to be. He saw the man that Gibbons told him would be there.  
  
In Xander's opinion, he was a short, portly middle-aged man with thinning sandy blonde hair and indirect blue eyes. His eyes shot to Xander and eyed him scrupulously him slight disdain.  
  
"You must be Xander Cage. I'm Tim Corey"  
  
"Yeah. You're the partner?"  
  
"Hmm, fortunately not, I'm supposed to take you to Agent Bell. Once we collect your bags, we must go, Agent Bell does not tolerate lateness"  
  
Xander rolled his eyes behind his dark glasses and took long strides towards the baggage claim while Tim stood by annoyed. Holding a thick black leather suitcase in his hand, he followed Corey out to the waiting taxi. The driver was wearing a musty gray shirt and work jeans with sneakers, not Xander's idea of a taxi driver, so he was instantly on his guard.  
  
They drove about 10 minutes to a cold looking little wooden shack that only had one widow and a mediocre looking door, but the locks and bolts were first class, which again, heightened Xander's guard. Corey got out of the cab and motioned for Xander to do the same as he paid the cabby.  
  
Corey knocked on the door in an odd pattern and the door slowly creaked open.  
  
"What, have we entered the twilight zone?"  
  
Corey sent him a dark look before he walked into the shack and Xander slowly followed him. The room smelled stale, but there was an underlying smell of roses. A small yellow bulb flickered to life and showed a ratty looking couch with a semi-polished coffee table and an ancient coffee maker with equally ancient looking coffee.  
  
Corey led him into the kitchen and there was a person sitting at the table with a thick black leather jacket, a baseball hat and sunglasses perched on their nose while they were reading a newspaper.  
  
"Agent Bell"  
  
The mysterious person rose and shook his hand.  
  
"Agent Corey"  
  
Xander's eyebrows raised as she removed her baseball cap and it seemed like miles of gelled curly blonde hair rained down her back, but she kept her glasses on her pixie nose. Her voice sounded, like an obsessed man once compared it to, like sandpaper wrapped in velvet.  
  
"Mr.Cage, this is Katie Bell, she'll be your partner of this assignment"  
  
Xander eyed her closely. She was willow slim, couldn't be a day over 29, and as the glasses slipped down her nose, Xander could see she had misty green eyes.  
  
"Ms. Bell, this is Xander Cage"  
  
"Yes, I know who you are Mr.Cage, I've been following your work for a while, and I've got to admit, you are amazing"  
  
Xander smiled widely,  
  
"Thank you Ms.Bell. What is this assignment about?"  
  
"You mean Gibbons didn't tell you?"  
  
Katie asked a little shocked. Xander shook his head and at a sharp look from her, Corey left the little barren shack and Katie sat on the couch and motioned for Xander to sit next to her.  
  
"Is it alright that I call you Xander?"  
  
"Sure"  
  
"Call me Katie then, but I can't lie to you"  
  
"Lie to me about what?"  
  
Katie took a deep breath and said slowly.  
  
"There is a mission, but we both have very different assignments"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
Katie looked down at the wooden floor that was attempted to be decorated with a semi-expensive oriental rug. Xander's voice was at such a low rumble that it was a surprise it didn't set off car alarms.  
  
"My assignment was to make sure you don't return to America"  
  
"You mean kill me"  
  
His voice hasn't changed and Katie realized this was a man who wasn't afraid of death. He took his glasses off and ran them back and forth through his hands.  
  
"Fuck, can't I go someplace where someone's not trying to kill me"  
  
"I'm sorry"  
  
"Yeah. Well are you going to?"  
  
He asked as he picked up the police issued revolver and handed it to her.  
  
"Um,"  
  
"You'll never get a cleaner shot"  
  
Katie looked at the gun he had given her like it was a pretty flower.  
  
"Is it what you want Xander?"  
  
She asked with her head cocked to the side, her hair falling over her shoulder.  
  
"That's good, no one else who tried to kill me asked me that. It's your call"  
  
Katie searched his face with pity on her pretty face. The gun seemed to turn to a lead weight and began to get heavier and heavier in her hands, slowly she gave in.  
  
"You know I can't do it"  
  
Xander smiled and indiscreetly took the gun from her.  
  
"Good girl"  
  
He murmured softly and placed the gun back on the table.  
  
"Well it seems like the bad guys had a plan"  
  
Katie said as she slipped the faded Yankee's cap over her hair  
  
"The real question is, what the hell is ours?" 


	3. Getting Acquainted

Ch 3 Getting Acquainted  
  
Katie Bell told Xander all there was to know about the smuggling that was going on late at night in Wellington, but it barely scratched the surface. What Xander did learn was that Katie had lived in New Zealand since she was born, even after her parents died and her older brother Scott moved away, she stayed.  
  
Now they sat in a cozy little restaurant that faced the bay, Katie picked through a salad and listened intently as he talked about his life in New York City.  
  
"You must have been crushed"  
  
Katie said sadly as she watched the sunset over the water. She couldn't help up feel an overwhelming sadness when he told her about September 11.  
  
"Yeah, it was horrible, but there is nothing that can be done now to change it. But I think it did the country good, made us stronger"  
  
"But Xander, hundreds of thousands of people were killed"  
  
"You're pretty emotional for an agent"  
  
"Yeah well just because I'm an agent doesn't make me inhuman"  
  
Katie said almost angrily. Xander raised an eyebrow and decided to change the topic and gave an evil glare to the leafy green food that Katie was eating  
  
"I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe you don't eat meat"  
  
Katie laughed softly as she took a bite of a sliced tomato.  
  
"I've never eaten meat in my life"  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"27"  
  
"So you're telling me that in 27 years you've never eaten bacon?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Pork chops?"  
  
"Nope"  
  
"Ham?"  
  
"They all come from the same animal Xander"  
  
"Yeah right Katie, some wonderful magical animal"  
  
Katie laughed and tossed a cucumber at him, which he caught in his mouth and chewed.  
  
"That's amazing,"  
  
Said the snobby tall waiter who brought Katie a water, and Xander a beer.  
  
"Does he do any other tricks?" Katie glared at the waiter, but Xander was too busy coughing and pretending to choke on, in his opinion, the vial crunchy green vegetable. The waiter, disgusted, set the drinks down and left.  
  
"God! How can you eat these?"  
  
He asked, trying to wash the taste out of his mouth with beer.  
  
"All that meat is gonna make everything in you to fat"  
  
Xander flexed him arm and pretended not to notice as a few 19 year olds gasped.  
  
"I doubt that"  
  
Katie rolled her pretty green eyes and placed a cherry tomato in her mouth.  
  
"One day it will catch up with you. And when you're fat and old, I'll be skinny and young"  
  
Xander smiled and shook his head and sighed with satisfaction as he ate a chunk of steak in his mouth that seemed to melt like butter.  
  
"You already are skinny and young, besides, you don't know how old I am"  
  
"Well how old are you then?"  
  
"Guess"  
  
"I don't know-29?"  
  
"Higher"  
  
"31?"  
  
Xander leaned over and whispered something in Katie's ear. To anyone else, they would look like lovers the way he smiled and she giggled.  
  
"Hmm, you still look good"  
  
"I still am good"  
  
"Oh really? Well you'll have to prove that to me sometime"  
  
Suddenly, Xander saw something of Yelena in Katie's smile. It surprised him, they didn't look anything alike, Yelena had short straight black hair and solemn brown eyes while Katie had long blonde hair and green eyes.  
  
"Um, Katie, I have a girlfriend"  
  
Katie smiled and pushed some hair behind her ears and smiled.  
  
"Yes I know, Yelena Romanov, 26 years old, 5'6, black hair and brown eyes. I did my research on you, Alexander Scott Cage"  
  
"That's not fair, I don't know your middle name, and how did you find that out?"  
  
"I told you I was a fan didn't I? Besides it's not that hard to find everything about anyone with the computer system I have" 


	4. Secret Shadows

They paid for the food and took a walk along the bay.  
  
"So tell me about the computer system you have"  
  
Xander asked her as she balanced along the slim walkway that ran directly above the bay.  
  
"What is there to tell you about it? Hmm, well, it's a computer. My brother Caleb is a computers specialist, so he can hook anything up to the any computer, he's really amazing, all I had to do was type your name into a search quota and everything about you came up"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Family, police records, and with your profession, I admit it is impressive that you've never been in jail. Everything under the sun"  
  
Katie hitched her black leather purse higher on her shoulder and smiled at the setting sun.  
  
"That's the thing about computers though, they can tell you whatever you need to know, or totally screw you over"  
  
Katie said idly as she stepped off the walkway and to his side. Xander had to admit that besides Yelena, Katie was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had big almond shaped green eyes and a full soft mouth. She smiled as she saw him watching her.  
  
"Come on, let's get something to drink, my oldest brother Tom owns it. Wanna go?"  
  
Riddick shrugged on his jacket and ran a hand over his shaved head.  
  
"Sure,"  
  
Katie sent him a classy smile and took his hand friendly to led him to the worn in Jazz hole. As soon as they stepped, they were greeted by the smell of cigar smoke and spilled liquor. Some men smiled at Katie as she walked in and she took a seat with Xander at the bar.  
  
"What would you like?"  
  
She asked him as the bartender, who was also her brother Tom, an attractive man about 27 with sharp green eyes and spiky brown hair.  
  
"Um, just a beer, anything"  
  
Katie gave him an odd look and shook her head  
  
"What?"  
  
"You can't just order any beer, it has to be the best, and fortunately, that's all the Tom has here. Tommy!"  
  
She called out to her brother. He looked up at her and grabbed to glasses off the rack.  
  
"What can I get ya darlin?"  
  
He asked, his voice heavy with an Australian lit.  
  
"Can we get a Black Russian and a Leffe Beer?"  
  
Tom nodded, but sighed at the same time.  
  
"You know I don't approve of you drinking though Kate"  
  
Katie rolled her eyes as Tom held out the two glasses full of foaming amber liquid. She handed the beer to Xander and gingerly sipped her drink.  
  
"Do you like it here in Wellington?"  
  
Katie nodded but looked away, something was definitely bothering her. Xander drank some of the beer and watched Katie out of the corner of his eyes.  
  
"Okay, what's bothering you?"  
  
Katie looked over at him a little shocked, she tried to shake the feeling from her, but it was impossible, soon the feeling she was fighting was going to consume her. It overtook her when she saw Xander look rather pale, suddenly, his muscles that Katie decided were very impressive, gave up on him and he slumped over the bar.  
  
Tom gave Katie an angry look as he came behind the bar.  
  
"You know I had to do it Tom"  
  
Katie said defensively. Tom nodded and grabbed Xander's limp body and attempted to drag him off. When the other occupants of the bar gave the three of them odd looks, Tom made a motion with his hand to show that Xander had been drinking too much. No one really cared to notice that he had only had no drink, a woman sitting in the back of the darkened bar. With a sigh, she flipped her computer open and rapidly typed something. Looking over her shoulder, she put her computer in the thick carrying bag and stormed out quickly. 


	5. Ren

Chapter 5  
  
  
  
The mysterious pretty woman with watermelon pink lips and her hair pulled under a faded Yankee's cap. She slammed the door to her apartment and cursed the air into a pretty blue. She knew she should have followed the three of them, but there was nothing she could do before she received her orders from her headquarters. After what seemed for an eternity, the communicator buzzed.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
She tried to sound calm, but she was really jumping underneath her tanned skin.  
  
"Ms.Logan, is that how you're mother taught you how to answer the phone?"  
  
She smiled and pulled her long hair down to flip it over her shoulder.  
  
"Well, to be fair Mr.Harrison, this isn't a phone at all"  
  
The aged man rolled his brown eyes and teased out one of Rena Logan's sultry smiles. She ran her fingers through her fingers through her coffee colored hair and rubbed her fingers in the corner of her dark lilac eyes.  
  
"I understand you're tired Ren, but you are my surest bet for this, the other guys are just fumes"  
  
Rena, or Ren as the other guys on the base called her, cocked her head to the side and let her pretty silky hair spill over.  
  
"That's a damn lie and you know it. Hill and Scotts are much better equipped"  
  
When he rolled his eyes again, Ren sighed and flickered her American flag lighter until the wick of a candle sputtered to life and sent dancing shadows around the room. She began to reach into her purse for her pack of cigarettes, but Joe Harrison's mouth puckered  
  
"Drop the 'rettes Ren"  
  
She sighed and reached in further but stopped with a smile on her full lips when Joe stopped her again. She gave up and tossed the packet of Camel's across the room and pouted.  
  
"So what do you want to me do then?"  
  
"Follow them. Don't draw much attention to yourself, just get Cage out of trouble"  
  
Ren nodded slowly and bit on her full bottom lip. She had a calm personality and slick style, but when promoted, her nerves jittered like nothing else.  
  
"After you get Cage safe, I want you to enjoy your time in New Zealand"  
  
Ren was about to protest, but Joe cut her off.  
  
"Ren, if you return to Manhattan right after Cage is in Washington, you will no longer have a job here"  
  
Ren was about to tell Joe exactly where he could put his opinions like that, but she also knew that arguing with Joe Harrison was like fighting with a brick wall, and even though she tried once, she never wanted to do it again.  
  
"One more day. Two tops"  
  
She said, trying to bargain with him  
  
"Try one more week Agent Logan, that's an order"  
  
With a click, Joe disconnected the transmission and the small screen went blank. She suppressed a scream and reached for the packet of cigarettes again, she sat back in the chair and was about to light one of the long sticks up, but had realized that Joe had made her loose her taste for them for the night.  
  
"Well isn't that great?"  
  
She pulled her hair back into a messy bun and kicked off her black Italian leather shoes that were caked with mud and some other things Ren really didn't want to identify. She rested her head back on the chair and willed the dull ache in her feet to either go away, or for her feet to fall off.  
  
"I have a life damn it, and one I'd like to get back to. He can't just sent me anywhere he likes an expect me to be fine and dandy with it. I'm a human being"  
  
Suddenly tired, she tugged off her tailored dark blue jacket, leaving her in her black silk slacks and a simple white shirt.  
  
"I so wanted to be a doctor"  
  
She said to herself as she slowly undressed and pulled a sexy crimson silk teddy over he head, letting the soft silk whisper around her slim thighs. She climbed in between the cool bed sheets and closed her eyes; her long inky black lashes resting on her sweetly flushed cheeks. Her hair spread out like angel wings on the crisp white pillows and willed herself to sleep. 


	6. Sorry, I don't have a title

When the sun rose, she drove around the streets, tapping her fingers on the dashboard, enjoying as the gorgeous scenery zipped by the sassy red convertible that Joe had so kindly bribed her with. With a laugh, she pulled her hair out of the long ponytail and let it fly around like wild animals and she turned up the music that she was listening to. She saw the building where she was the last night and put the car to a screeching halt.  
  
She didn't bother unlocking the doors and just jumped over them and jogged across the street. She swung the door and was a little surprised to see Tom was behind the bar flirting with a pretty red head. She glanced uneasily around behind she walked up the back stairs quietly. There was a door, she pressed the palms of her and pushed gently and there was a small creak that echoed.  
  
With a sly smile she pressed more weight and the door gave. The hallway smelled so bad she almost covered her nose with her hand and gagged, but instead she took one deep breath of pristine air before she stepped into the corridor. Rats scurried around her feet and she did her best not to yelp. She hated rats.  
  
There was a sort of door carved out of the wall where a single large piece of beach wood. With a firm kick, the door splintered.  
  
"You know there was a handle"  
  
An accented voice said and Ren turned to see the illustrious Katherine Bellamy.  
  
"You know I expected more of you Bellamy, why would you want an American agent?"  
  
"Well, American men are stupid, they're thrown off guard by a pretty face and a short skirt"  
  
Ren shrugged a shoulder easily. She flipped her mused hair over her shoulder and wrapped it into a messy bun.  
  
"I'll take him off your hands if you're done with him"  
  
She motioned to Xander who was still knocked out by whatever it was that Katherine and her brother put in his drink, in the back of her mind, she was worried if he ever would. He wasn't what she had expected. She had thought that Alexander Cage would be some portly mild aged man with thinning black hair and beady dark eyes.  
  
"Oh no, I intend to keep him for a while, it's always so fun when they wake up"  
  
Ren's little nagging voice was soothed as Katherine said that and she sighed  
  
"Well, I wish I could let you do that, Bellamy, but I have special orders, and I need to get him home"  
  
Katherine smirked and Ren noticed that she rested a hand over something on her hip. As fast as you could blink, the two women had guns out and they were both aimed at each other's throats.  
  
"Nice to see you again Logan, glad to see you haven't lost your touch with a gun"  
  
The corners of Ren's mouth tipped up in a half sneer. Her blood as running and burning hot, but her hand never wavered. The sun was high in the sky now and it poured rays of light through the musty window like liquid gold. Xander began to stir but he didn't wake up. Now Ren became nervous, if he woke up now, it would make things a lot harder on the three of them.  
  
"Neither have you. But seriously Katherine, what do you want with him? He can't possibly have any use for you, he's an extreme sports rebel who was recruited, if you're going to take someone out, go kidnap Osama Bin Laden, everyone's looking for him, plus he's an asshole, if you're looking for money Bin Laden would make you a lot more then him "  
  
Katherine smiled brightly  
  
"Oh, I know this, but this makes it more fun, he's an innocent"  
  
"You're sick Bellamy, you and your entire family"  
  
"Thank you"  
  
"Fine. Keep Cage, but just so you know, agencies in America are coming together"  
  
Ren risked her lungs and took a deep breath and began to leave. But as fast as a snake, she had spun around and instead of shooting Katherine as much as she wanted, she shot the water pipe. The pipe burst and scalding hot water spurt around the room. While Katherine tried to cover herself, Ran snagged Xander and escaped.  
  
Back in the car and doing 80 on a 35 road, she was a little more then half way back to the apartment when Xander had woken up.  
  
"Where the hell am I?"  
  
He said, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight, his voice little more then a growl.  
  
"Wellington"  
  
Ren said easily, screeching around a corner that did not help Xander's newfound headache.  
  
"I know that, who the hell are you?"  
  
Ren stifled a sigh. Joe had warned her that he could have an overly male attitude  
  
"I am Rena Logan, or Ren, whatever you want. Why I have it, is because you were napped by Katherine Bellamy"  
  
"You must be mistaken, I was assigned with Katie Bell"  
  
Ren raised a dark eyebrow as she slowed to a stop at a apartment. Xander got out of the car and followed her wobbly to the door.  
  
"What the fuck is going on?"  
  
He said.  
  
"You should sleep, I'll tell you later"  
  
"No. You'll tell me now" 


	7. One Night

Ren turned on him, emotions burning in her violet eyes. Xander liked to rile women up, but this one was the most interesting, she looked like she could spit fire if she wanted to.  
  
"I've wasted enough time already, I'm not about to waist more explaining anything to the likes of you"  
  
Xander said as he walked past her and reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his communicator and typed in some numbers and swore loudly when Gibbons didn't answer his. Ren was regarding him bitterly  
  
"You think you are the only one who gave anything up for this? You're wrong. I've given up 8 months. My boyfriend for 4 years had broken up with me over this"  
  
Xander shrugged and raised an eyebrow  
  
"Sorry princess. Lucky for me, I don't have that problem"  
  
Ren had a very pleasant vision of her biting his head off and spitting it out, but she didn't have the strength to do it.  
  
"Look don't shit on my broken heart just because you've converted to some warped brand of romantic atheism!"  
  
Now it was his turn to react. He turned and slowly stalked over to her, pinning her to the counter with the hardness of his body. His voice was barely more then a guttural growl. Ren's eyes widened when his lips got dangerously close to hers that she could feel the heat radiating off him.  
  
"You should have gone home and let the big boys play with the toys Mizz Logan"  
  
If he hadn't seen anything in her beautiful amethyst eyes he would have gotten closer to her, to feel that wonderfully lithe body under his, but he saw fear under them like swirling purple embers. With a sigh of defeat he backed off and looked at her with amusement  
  
"Did you bring anything pretty and female with you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Ren asked, suddenly cautious  
  
"Do you have any dresses?"  
  
He asked slowly like he would to a 5 year old. Ren's face became puzzled  
  
"Dresses?"  
  
"Yeah, things that women wear, come in a variety of shapes sizes and colors?"  
  
"I know what they are. I meant why are you asking"  
  
Xander ran a calloused hand over his head  
  
"Because I'm taking you out to dinner tonight"  
  
"Cute"  
  
"No, I mean it"  
  
Ren backed away from him slowly  
  
"To make up for my ungentlemanly behavior. Besides, you could explain the whole mission thing while we're out."  
  
Ren shrugged a delicate shoulder  
  
"I might have packed one or two away"  
  
Xander smiled and winked as he told her to be ready at 8 as he walked into the bathroom leaving Ren alone and rather confused.  
  
"Well then,"  
  
She said to herself. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and pulled out her black suitcase out of the closet and threw it on the bed so it pounced a few times. She unzipped it and rummaged through the variety of clothes she had brought. After tossing old shirts and endless pairs of jeans, she came upon a icy blue silk dress that stopped at her thighs, and a silvery purple one that stopped at the knee. She opted for the shorter dress and pulled out the ice-pick thin white shoes she had brought for some reason or the other. She shed her other clothes and naked, tossed the other clothes in the suitcase and returned it to the closet. She pulled the smooth silk over her skin and played with the ends of her hair until they lay in a pretty wave. Suddenly, she was very tired. She slipped the silk off and replaced it with the comfortable PJ pants and a tank top. She climbed in between the sheets of the bed and slowly drifted to sleep.  
  
When she woke, the small clock beside the bed told her it was 7:30. She jumped up and looked frantically around the room for the dress she had discarded. She found it on the floor half shoved under the bed. Luckily, it wasn't wrinkled or stained by the accidentally spilled bottle of nail polish. She strapped on the shoes and pulled the dress. She dashed into the connecting bathroom and applied a light coat of rose lip-gloss and a touch of blush and added a hand full of gel to make her hair seem wavy. She nearly stumbled down the stairs and saw Xander wearing dark slacks and a white shirt. He looks like some sort of western outlaw, she thought to herself.  
  
"You look good"  
  
He said with an approving grin. Uncomfortable by his piercing stare, she pulled the hem of the red dress down a little.  
  
"You don't look too bad yourself cowboy"  
  
Xander grinned  
  
"Cowboy?"  
  
Ren blushed when she realized her slip.  
  
"Nothing. Where are we going?"  
  
She asked as she shifted in the foot killing shoes to find a semi- comfy medium between the pain and numbness. Xander slowly digested all the soft features of her face, the smooth skin that looked like pure sweet cream and he began to wonder if it would taste as sweet. She had high cheekbones that gave her a look of royalty and a chin that was a bit too stubborn for classic beauty. Despite her eyes, what intrigued him most were her come-and-kiss-me-boy lips that were painted a glossy rose.  
  
"What are you in the mood for?"  
  
He asked, a little embarrassed that images of the two of them heating up the sheets had made his voice drop 5 decibels. Ren ran her fingers through the ends of her hair that the fading sun had teased some red out of.  
  
"Italian?"  
  
He bit his lip softly, but the deep rumbling laugh still escaped him  
  
"What?"  
  
Ren asked uncertainly  
  
"If you want Italian, I'll cook"  
  
Ren raised a surprised eyebrow.  
  
"You cook?"  
  
Xander responded to her comment by a quick and cocky grin. He snagged his beloved black leather bomber jacket off the back of a chair and walked towards the door.  
  
"There's a grocer on the corner. You like lasagna?"  
  
Ren's surprise turned into a smile as she said  
  
"I love it"  
  
Xander flashed her of his infamous cocky grins and left. Watching him leave, Ren lowered herself to a chair and took a deep breath.  
  
"It's just dinner, do not adapt feelings for your partner no feelings no feelings no feelings"  
  
She muttered to herself. She finally relaxed her began to feel extremely calm as she rocked back and forth on the chair legs. No matter what she told herself, this was going to be a very interesting dinner indeed. 


End file.
